We're a private, nonpartisan foundation that aims to foster economic independence by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo., and has approximately $2 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org.

The Startup Revolution Starts With You

Communities create “hotspots” for entrepreneurship by supporting churn – constant movement in and out of your local network keeps ideas and capital flowing. As a new report from the Kauffman Foundation that analyzed the movements of Inc. 500 founders revealed, 75 percent of the founders started their firms in different metro areas from the ones where they last received a degree. Startup Chile has provided a great example of attracting entrepreneurs from all over the world – thereby creating new collisions in Santiago each time they launch a new class of startups.

Density ties it all together Boulder and Silicon Valley are often mentioned as entrepreneurial meccas; communities across the country often ask the Kauffman Foundation how they can replicate the startup revolutions of those cities. The answer is simple: You can’t. What you can do is understand the basic principles and apply the knowledge to establish a sustainable entrepreneurial environment that fits your city or region; Feld’s book provides valuable insights and advice.

When moving forward with your startup revolution, remember the importance of density. You can walk from one end of Boulder to another. There is a tight entrepreneurial neighborhood in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts. On the other hand, Kansas City is a classic example of suburban sprawl, with businesses and neighborhoods spread throughout multiple municipalities and two states. The “magical” meeting of collision, skills and mobility are all difficult in a community this spread out: You’re not likely to run into entrepreneurs five miles away in Kansas City without planning ahead. Planning ahead is what we will do.

United in the startup revolution In that inaugural address, more than 50 years ago, JFK also said that “United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.”

He wasn’t talking about establishing sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems, but he could have been. The startup revolution builds on the entrepreneurial ideal that one person can make a difference and that, united, there is little we cannot do.

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Wonderful post Lesa. Thanks for spelling out some of the key elements of Community.

Another great entrepreneurial community worth mentioning, since it’s incubating itself, is downtown Las Vegas. Tony Hsieh and the Downtown Project have an amazing vision of their “city as a startup.” They’re engineering a powerful eco-system from the ground up.

I’m passionate that local communities can and will start to fund themselves in the future. I wrote a bit about the power and importance of the local community being involved in the support of, vetting of, and FUNDING of local companies via crowdfunding. See below. That’s a part of what we’re focused on at crowdfunder.com.